Westfield utility crews making progress on power outage

WESTFIELD – Westfield Gas and Electric officials Monday warned that some city residents could be without electricity into Wednesday.

The warning came as utility workers, assisted by counterparts from North Carolina and Templeton, Ma. continued to restore electrical power throughout the city.

The focus was on the department’s main circuit lines, in the downtown, along Western Avenue, Montgomery Road, Union Street and East Mountain Road. The utility serves just over 19,000 customers and estimated 8,000 were waiting for restoration of power Monday afternoon.

Two shelters, one at Juniper Park School which opened Sunday and the other at Scanlon Hall, located on the campus of Westfield State University were available and were scheduled to remain open as long as necessary. Shelter was also available at Noble Hospital for the elderly and those with medical issues.

Department of Public Works crews were busy canvassing streets in all neighborhoods removing tree branches and limbs from road surfaces and assisting utility crews as necessary with limbs and/or trees on power lines, Superintendent James M. Mulvenna said.

Schools were closed Monday and will remain closed Tuesday. Mayor Daniel M. Knapik indicated schools may be closed a third day on Wednesday.

City Hall, without electricity, was closed and the city’s Emergency Management Agency personnel established a command center at the Police Department headquarters on Washington Street, Knapik said.

Barnes Regional Airport here and Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee were operating as normal Monday.

Operations were back to normal Monday at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut following weekend nightmares by passengers of at least four flights that had been diverted to the airport. Passengers complained about planes forced to sit on the tarmac for as long as seven hours.

“Safety and security are always our number one concern,” said Bradley’s John Wallace, director of communications.

“The airport took approximately 23 diversions on Saturday and our resources were stretched to the limit. Bradley attempted to accommodate approximately 1000 to 1,500 passengers who were stranded here Saturday into Sunday with cots, blankets, food and water. The airport remained open throughout the storm,” Wallace said.